LOCATION

West Gateway, Long Beach

Interesting fact about me

I'm the Creative Director at Meal Sharing!

About Me

I am 100% foodcentric. My entire life revolves around food and the entire dining experience.
I write a food column for a newspaper, blog, consult for restaurants & bars, podcast about dates & dinners, and I have a web series called Breaking Bread, which is essentially about cooking & eating with strangers -- oh, and I was on Master Chef Season 7.
I also work with several local chefs in Long Beach and Los Angeles, who are eager to share their own creative menu ideas in super cool venues with RAD people. Check out some of my monthly pop dinners that are also posted on Meal Sharing. Any and all are welcome!
My blog: www.foodfashionfoolishfornication.com
My website: www.ginaruccione.com

Why I Share Meals

I want to meet new people, share amazing food and have interesting conversations. Let's connect!

Places I’ve Traveled

I fell in love with traveling at a young age. When I was 15 years old I backpacked through Japan and then went on to attend high school in Sicily. I've been to Spain, France, Shanghai and Ireland.
My traveling experiences have been incredibly rewarding. I love meeting new people and exploring exotic (and some not so exotic) places.
"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends." - Maya Angelou

A Memory of a Home-Cooked Meal

I'm a cuisine writer & eat out often, but I have to say that all of my fondest food memories have been at someone else's home (or my own) eating a fabulous home-cooked meal. Sometimes the food is only as good as the company and wine it's paired with-- being with great people and enjoying a simple meal is one of life's greatest pleasures.

Gina's events are all feasts for the tastebuds and the eyes - this Winter Harvest Dinner is no exception! Each course was exciting and delicious. The decor and ambiance is warm, inviting and visually stunning. A++++ for an exceptional event!!

The experience overall was great!
The food was great and paired with the Whiskey was surprisingly good... never know that you could pair Whiskey with food! The main course...chicken with siracha aioli was very tasty! The hostess made me feel very welcome and included!

What I love about Women & Whiskies // Lot 579 Harvest Dinner is pretty much everything! From the Host, to the decor, to the food and the amazing drinks! I love the people that are now my new friends. The ambiance was amazing! What a venue! I can't explain how much we need these type of events in our lives. They really make us human. Thank you for a wonderful night I will never forget!

Gina has the ability to take over a room. And I don't mean that in a bad way. She's full of life, charming, and completely open. If you have a roomful of clouds, Gina will bring out the sunshine. And probably a rainbow and unicorns. Definitely a great addition to mealsharing!

A very warm and visually delightful evening. The intoxicating space, treasured books strewn atop the tables. The food was luscious, cooked with skill and flavored by joyful preparation. Dustin Trani, "magnifico," a chef to be a star! Gina, you rock this, cara mia!!

This was my first Mealsharing experience. It was amazing! The food ...the atmosphere...the host! What was so interesting to me is that I felt totally comfortable amongst mostly people I had never met before. Like a party only better ...because I felt totally at home.
Met great people and made some new friends too. All this while enjoying probably one of the best meals ever.
Can't say enough!

This was my first meal with mealsharing and it was an incredible experience thanks to the amazing hostess Gina, talented chefs, gracious homeowners and the lovely fellow guests. The evening flew by and I'm very much looking forward to the next opportunity to share a meal. Cheers!

What a magical evening. The home in which it was hosted in was filled with beautiful art , jewelry and creativity by Eugene & Anne. Gina was a fabulous host providing us with so much information and knowledge. Her passion and love for food is absolutely infectious! The 4 course meal was one of the best I've ever had, Chef Dustin puts his artistic heart & soul in everything he does. The flavors & textures we're out of this world. I can't wait to participate in the next one. There's no better way to bring a group of strangers together while breaking bread. Love -love- loved it!!!! ❤️

I had such a nice first experience with Meal Sharing thanks to Gina and Andres! We had plenty of interesting things to talk about, and I quickly forgot about my initial nervousness. Looking forward to hosting more dinners like this.

Such an amazing event! The food was fantastic (can't stop thinking about the goat and polenta) and the company was wonderful. Thanks for being such a great hostess! I've also been ordering my new fave drink - a whiskey smash!

Many things to love about Italia Moderna's Mealsharing featuring Chef Dustin Trani. First off, the venue was a one-of-a-kind home of esteemed artists so it made a most interesting atmosphere. The guests that showed up to eat wonderful food together were mostly strangers to me and it added a great new dimension. Then the choice of a chef was phenomenal. Dustin Trani's combination of ingredients starting with the first course of Hamachi Tartar was my favorite. But all the other courses were unique and special: Charred Stone Fruit Salad, Uni Pasta, Roasted Duck with creamed corn, potatoe confit, and chantelle mushrooms, followed with the dessert Chocolate Budino. It was a special evening all around, and I look forward to another Mealsharing in my community.

I loved the evening! Gina was an excellent hostess and made us all feel welcome as well as the couple that let her use their space.
The food was superb and loved watching Chef Trani prepare and plate the food for us to see.
The company was delightful and met new and interesting people.

This was such a fantastic experience!! Totally out of the box for my boyfriend and I. Met tons of very cool new people. The gumbo was soooo delicious and the surprise desert was incredible! We got to have a nice cocktail hour, then sat down for the gumbo and continued the party! The location was absolutely beautiful overlooking the city! I can't wait to do this again next month! Thank you Gina for hosting :-)